CalPERS Issues Statement on Proposed State Budget

SACRAMENTO, CA - Anne Stausboll, Chief Executive Officer for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) issued the following statement today in response to the proposed state budget and efforts to reduce health care costs today and in the future:

"Managing and paying for the cost of health care for public employees requires discipline, collaboration and innovation. We applaud the Governor’s wisdom to do what CalPERS and many public employers have done in recent years, tackling the cost of health care and retiree health care.

"In 2007, we established the California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust Fund to give the state, cities, counties, and public agencies a way to pre-fund retiree health care obligations. Today, over 400 employers, including the state on behalf of three state employee bargaining units, have invested nearly $4 billion to help pay for the future health care promises made to public servants.

"In recent years, CalPERS expanded health care options to drive competition, reduce unnecessary costs and ensure high quality care. We have worked to ensure that only eligible members receive care in our health care program, efforts that have produced savings of more than $100 million so far, and we are strong advocates of wellness programs that can further reduce costs over the long-term.

"CalPERS has made significant progress to chip away at the cost of health care but much more work needs to be done. We look forward to working with the administration, our more than 2,400 employer partners, our members and their representatives, and all our stakeholders to tackle the issues and find cost-effective solutions."

For more than eight decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service. Our pension fund serves more than 1.7 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.4 million members and their families in our health program, making us the largest defined-benefit public pension in the U.S. CalPERS’ total fund market value currently stands at approximately $295 billion. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.